In an undersea oil well, hydraulic fluid is used to send “pressure pulses” to control various equipment during the drilling operation. Typically, the actuating fluid is delivered from a floating rig through a chain of fluid supply conduits which are connected by a series of underwater fluid couplings. An underwater fluid coupling can comprise a male part and a female part which are coupled/uncoupled from each other by relative linear movement therebetween.
The male part of a fluid coupling, such as an underwater fluid coupling, can comprise one or more passages and the female part can comprise a corresponding number of passages. In an uncoupled condition, a slide gate closes the passages in the male part and another slide gate closes the passages in the female part. When coupling the parts together, the slide gate closing the passages in the male part is linearly pushed (e.g., slid) by the female part in one direction and the slide gate closing the passages in the female part is linear pushed (e.g., slid) by the male part in the opposite direction. In the coupled condition, the gates are positioned so that male and female passages are open and they connect to form a fluid passageway. A seal assembly is commonly provided to seal the interface between the male part and the female part when the fluid coupling is in the coupled condition.